Program Overview

San Antonio Busy Bodies believes that each child is a unique individual possessing specific movement abilities which are influenced by growth and developmental processes, social interaction skills, and the ability to process information. In addition, we believe that children can improve their motor behaviors as they relate to movement, emotional-social and cognitive skills.

 

San Antonio Busy Bodies is a learning center for children to develop their gross motor skills (those that involve large movement) and fine motor skills (those that involve small movement of the hands), visual perception (perceiving with the eyes), ocular motor (eye hand coordination), sensory integration (acceptance of how things feel, smell and look), cognitive (thinking) as well as social and emotional skills.

 

Busy Bodies is a learning center for children that provides individualized program experiences in the following activity areas:

• sensory processing (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, proprioceptive, and vestibular) information received by the nervous system, then processed for appropriate responses)
• fundamental gross motor skills (those that involve large movement)
• perceptual motor skills (interaction of perception and voluntary movement)
• manipulative and fine motor skills (such as handwriting)

In addition, Busy Bodies stresses the improvement of self-esteem by strengthening the emotional social aspects of a child's personality. Since self-esteem is an important part of any child's life, it is certainly an important factor among children and youth with various motor behavior delays. All children desire to participate with other children in games, activities, and sports, and succeed in an acceptable manner.

Motor Development and Education

The importance of movement experiences in early childhood is well documented. The developmental level and control with which a child can move his or her body and manipulate objects in their environment with confidence has important implications for the overall development of their learning and performing potential. This includes an ability to coordinate movement skills relative to games and sports, and includes manipulative or fine motor abilities, which lay the foundations for skills such as reading, writing, and speaking which are all motor-based abilities. Motor development with control cannot be left to chance.

Sensory Processing

This is the way the central nervous system receives and interprets information from our sensory modalities, (visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory, proprioceptive, and vestibular) and turns them into appropriate responses. If the sensory input is not processed and organized accurately, the result is abnormal motor output with abnormal feedback. Thus, developmental lags, behavioral, emotional, and learning problems occur. Without an efficient central nervous system (good sensory processing), we are unable to interact comfortably with the world around us.

Motor Planning

Motor planning (praxis) is the ability of the brain to conceive, process (translate) sensory information, organize (plan an action), and execute an action (carry out a sequence of unfamiliar actions that are directed toward some purpose). Motor planning is an important ability that is dependent upon efficient sensory processing. Motor planning involves attention to the task while relying on stored information regarding unconscious body sensations.

Ocular Motor Control

Vision is a major sense avenue by which a child learns and learns to perform. Vision is involved in all our movements whether they are gross motor or fine motor. Two main functions of vision are static (stationary) and dynamic fixation (ocular movements). In order for a child to function effectively with precision in his or her perceptual environment, proper ocular motor control of these functions must be developed. There appears to be little doubt as to the importance of ocular motor efficiency as it relates to learning and success in the classroom. Children who have difficulty with visual tracking with control will have difficulty with reading and writing activities. Good visual tracking enables us to keep our eyes focused on a line in a book while reading, and this ability is necessary for success in the classroom and other movement related activities.

Fine Motor Control

Handwriting is an integral part of every child’s school experience. It is very complex and demanding on their fine motor control abilities. Difficulty in handwriting—known as dysgraphia—affects an estimated 10%-34% of all elementary school children. A failure to develop adequate control of the writing instrument can significantly affect the ability to complete written tasks legibly with speed and control. This can often lead to frustration, as children not only find it difficult to keep up with their peers, but the result of poor handwriting control also may significantly affect their academic development throughout their school years. This is particularly relevant as they progress through the grades where success is based upon the ability to complete written tasks legibly and in a timely manner.

 

Gross Motor Control

Children who have well developed gross motor skills will have good posture, balance, and a solid foundation for other learning to take place. A sense of balance and coordinated controlled movement are foundational in developing attention, in concentrating, and remaining focused over a period of time when learning, communicating, or doing their work.

The ability to perform gross motor skills with control enables children to move through their environment with confidence. This allows them to interact with their peers in play and a variety of games and sports, and enhances their social skills.

Children who have the ability to perform motor skills with coordination and control are more likely to develop a positive body image, and with continued success build their self-esteem, which is often carried over to other areas of life.

Neuromotor Reflex Integration

The inhibition of the primitive postural reflexes and the facilitation of the righting and equilibrium reactions are important in a child’s motor development for body control in order to move with ease and efficiency in both fine and gross motor development. These reflexes aid in creating a movement foundation for later coordination skills, such as writing, and for developing attention, concentration, and remaining focused when learning, communicating, or at work. Increasing our sensory integration abilities and motor skills enables us to perform reasoning, expression, action and interaction at higher speed, and allows us effortlessly to engage in parallel tasks simultaneously. The inhibition of the primitive postural reflexes and the facilitation of the righting and equilibrium reactions are important in a child’s motor development for body control in order to move with ease and efficiency in both fine and gross motor development. These reflexes aid in creating a movement foundation for later coordination skills, such as writing, and for developing attention, concentration, and remaining focused when learning, communicating, or at work. Increasing our sensory integration abilities and motor skills enables us to perform reasoning, expression, action and interaction at higher speed, and allows us effortlessly to engage in parallel tasks simultaneously.

 

Vestibular System

The vestibular system helps the entire nervous system to function effectively. When the nervous system does not function in a consistent and accurate way, the interpretation of other sensations will be inconsistent and inaccurate, and the nervous system will have trouble functioning efficiently. This information is necessary in helping the child to learn to perform and interact with his/her environment with control. It senses motion, gravity, balance, and is responsible for the kinesthetic input necessary for fluid motor skill development. The vestibular system has close neuronal associations with pathways for ocular motor control and auditory processing and language. Inaccurate vestibular input can contribute to abnormal resting muscle tone and poor coordination.